Bluegrass
An American acoustic style built from fiddle tunes and country music, played at high speed on acoustic instruments without amplification.
Bluegrass grew out of the string band tradition when the mandolin player Bill Monroe accelerated it into a virtuoso acoustic form, and it demands that every instrument be audible without a sound system. Guitarists in the style are expected to play a driving bass-note and chord rhythm and then take improvised breaks using flatpicking, crosspicking and double stops. The repertoire is largely made of shared fiddle tunes and songs, and the jam session is its natural setting.
Example: A fast acoustic arrangement with guitar, mandolin, banjo and bass, each taking a solo break in turn, is bluegrass.
See also
Related
- PageFlatpicking
- PageCrosspicking
- PageAcoustic guitar
- PageAmericana
- PageBebop
- PageBlues
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley